NiGHTS: Rebirth of Dreams
by The Other Sara
Summary: Due to a seal that prevents humans from entering the Night Dimension, no one has been able to dream for the past seven years. But when a girl ends up revisiting Nightopia when the seal weakens, she reunites with friends and must confront her past.
1. Prologue

Rated T for safety

For this fic, NiGHTS and other Nightmarens will be referred to as "its" as the creators of the franchise said that they have no gender. But visitor characters will refer to them as a "he" or "she" on ocassion. If you don't like OCs, then please kindly hit the back button.

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><p><strong>NiGHTS<strong>

**Rebirth of**** Dreams**

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

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><p>"Jesse, please don't do this," muttered a weakened and injured NiGHTS. "Think about your sister."<p>

"I'm sorry, NiGHTS..." said Jesse, quietly. "But this is the way it must be."

It couldn't believe that this was happening. Never before had NiGHTS felt the sting of betrayal... and it had hurt it more than than than its injuries. It struggled to stand up, clutching the wound on its side. What could have possibly gone wrong? Why would Jesse turn himself over to Wizeman? Reala, standing by the boy, the one who NiGHTS once called its "friend", merely laughed.

"Hurts, doesn't it, NiGHTS?" it said. "Now you know what it's like to have someone turn their back on you. Now you know our master's pai-"

"Shut up, Reala!" snapped NiGHTS. "Wizeman is not my master! He never was!"

"Ah, NiGHTS," said a booming voice. "Even after learning that Visitors cannot be trusted, you still haven't learned your place."

Appearing behind Reala and Jesse in the Dark Ocean, came a giant cloaked being with six floating hands and a menacing aura... someone NiGHTS knew all too well.

"But it matters not," said Wizeman. "I have finally acquired all but one Ideya from this boy."

The god of nightmare then looked to a young girl that was standing with Owl on the sidelines.

"All that is left is the Ideya that his dear sister posseses."

"What?" asked a shocked NiGHTS, looking at the girl.

The little girl clinged to Owl in fear, who in return, shielded her protectively with his wings. NiGHTS' blue eyes widened with horror. Not only was the girl a dear friend, but if her Ideya was stolen, it could mean the end of the Night Dimension; the end of the world of dreams as everyone knew it. It had to act, and fast. As if on cue, Reala floated towards them, hoping to pull the girl away from Owl. Using what strength it had left, NiGHTS took flight and flew quickly enough to reach and grab the two.

As it flew off with its two friends wrapped in its arms, NiGHTS dodged the incoming meteors that its sibling summoned. It had to get its friends away from the Dark Ocean; it was too dangerous for them. The chase continued until Reala suddenly appeared in front of NiGHTS and punched it in the face, causing it to drop both Owl and the girl, Alex. NiGHTS fell to the "floor" of the Dark Ocean, nearly losing consciousness. However, upon hearing Alex whimper, it immediately regained conciousness. Reala was descending upon her.

"Alexandra!" shouted Owl. "Wake up! You must wake up!"

That's right. If Alex woke up, she would disappear from the Night Dimension and return to her world. NiGHTS struggled to get up, but it simply didn't have the strength.

"Alex!" added NiGHTS. "Owl's right! You have to wake up!"

"I don't know how!" Alex said, panicking.

"Just focus! You can do it!" said Owl, encouraging her.

But Reala grabbed Alex before she could "disappear". She screamed and struggled, but to no avail.

"Stop struggling!" barked Reala. "You're coming with me!"

NiGHTS and Owl's voices could be heard overlapping each other, begging Alex to wake up. The girl squinted, as if she had a headache.

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><p>"...Looks like she's pulling through!" shouted a voice.<p>

"Quick! Grab the doctor!" said another voice.

"Alex! Sweetie! Please wake up!" said the third voice.

Alex managed to let out a small moan. Light filled her eyes, causing her to squint. But soon after, her vision cleared and she found herself staring at a plain white ceiling. Where was she, she thought. She looked to her side to see her mother and father sitting by her bedside with tears in their eyes.

"Mum? Daddy?" asked Alex weakly as she sat up.

"Oh Alex!" sobbed Alex's mother, hugging her daughter. "You're alright!"

The girl still felt disoriented. How did she get there in the first place? Alex then noticed her father had a long scar running across his face, which made her wonder how he got it. And that was when she remembered... the car crash. Her father, Jesse and herself were driving on a rainy night on their way home from a movie their father promised he would take them to see. Someone then turned around the corner and slammed their car into them. But that wasn't what concerned Alex. She was more concerned about her friends.

"Mummy... where's NiGHTS?" asked Alex.

Her mother, drying her tears, looked at her also teary husband in confusion.

"Honey?" asked Alex's father. "Who's NiGHTS?"

"NiGHTS is my friend," responded Alex. "So are Owl and the Nightopians. Jesse and I met them when we fell asleep and..."

Alex's attention then went over to the person in the bed next to hers. It was Jesse, who was in a death-like sleep and attached to a life support machine. She gasped. A sense of fear resonated through her. What happened to her friends in Nightopia? What happened to Jesse? She looked over to her parents, hoping for an explanation.

"Dad? Mum?" asked Alex. "What happened to NiGHTS? And Owl? And the Nightopians?"

"Sweetie," said Alex's mother gently. "You've been asleep for three months now... I'm sure it was all just a dream."

"No! It wasn't a dream! It was real!" shouted Alex, on the verge of tears. "I know it was real! I... I..."

"Alex, calm down." said Alex's mother.

"She must be traumatized from the crash." muttered Alex's father quietly.

"But... but..." Alex said.

At that moment, Alex began to bawl like the small child she was. She was confused, scared and upset. Why wouldn't her parents believe her? And what did happen to her friends and brother? She could only hope that they were okay and that Wizeman didn't hurt them or worse. Alex's parents tried to calm her down, but to no avail. Never before had the girl felt so alone.

But things changed as she grew up.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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><p>"...In other news, today marks the seventh anniversary of the arrival of the Hypnos Syndrome," said the reporter on the TV. "Even today, scientists today have still been unable to confirm why people worldwide have been unable to dream."<p>

The channel on the TV was changed to a cooking show.

"Aw, mum!" whined Alex. "I was watching that!"

"Since when do teenagers like you watch the news?" asked Alex's mother, raising her brow.

"Well, there's nothing else to watch," muttered Alex. "Except those lousy reality shows."

"Speaking of reality," said Alex's mother. "Shouldn't you be going to school?"

"Oh crap! I forgot!"

Alex hopped off of the stool to the kitchen counter and grabbed her backpack, heading towards the door.

"I'll see you later!"

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><p>Even with the sudden epidemic of people not dreaming occurring seven years ago, not much had changed in the city of Whithaven. Everyone appeared to go about their daily lives as if nothing happened. Sure, there were constant mentions of the Hypnos Syndrome, but whenever it was mentioned, people seemed to treat it as a common yet strange occurrence; as if they had gotten used to it. This was what Alex had noticed for the past seven years, even when she was walking down the side walk in the city to her school.<p>

She had forgotten what it was like to go to sleep and dream. The last dream she had was in that coma when she was eight years old. But even then, the images she saw were still blurry. Alex sighed at the thought of it. She often wondered whether or not her older brother, Jesse, who was still in a coma, was dreaming at all. Perhaps after school, Alex thought, that she would go visit him in the hospital.

She came back to reality upon discovering that her bus was leaving its stop. Panicking, as that was the only way she could get to school without walking, Alex immediately dashed towards the bus as it was taking off, trying to follow it. While she was chasing after it, she noticed a couple of her classmates were looking out the window and laughing at her. This was a common occurrence, much to Alex's chagrin. Alex was a pretty fast runner, but her doctor always told her that she should pace herself, as if she tried to go to her limit, it would mean exerting her weak heart. After a block, the bus outran her with little effort. She would have to walk the rest of the way to school.

Alex panted and clutched her chest, which had tightened due to her desperately trying to catch up with the bus. She hated that feeling; where it felt like something was crushing you like a slice of ham crushed between two slices of bread. But then again, who with a weak heart didn't like that feeling? It took a minute for Alex to catch her breath and start walking again. But as she started walking again, her chest grew tighter and her heartbeat faster. Alex clutched her chest once more, squinting in pain. She tried to figure out what was going on. And that was when she remembered: she had forgotten to take her heart medication three days in a row; she was having a heart attack.

As the chest pain grew worse by the second, Alex quickly started to feel lightheaded and nauseous to the point where she collapsed to the ground. The world was spinning around her. Her head felt like it was being pulled around in different directions. She heard voices saying things like "What's wrong with her?", "Is she alright?" and "Call an ambulance!". Soon, she began to feel herself slip away into unconsciousness.

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><p>Floating around the dark sky of the Dream Gate, NiGHTS couldn't help but find itself to be bored out of its skull. Ever since seven years ago, not a single Visitor had arrived, thanks to what happened. But it was for the best. Nightopia had been sealed away from the Visitors; if anymore had arrived (especially those with the Ideya of Purity), Wizeman would probably get to them and take over Nightopia as a result. It sighed. NiGHTS wished it didn't have to be this way. It missed playing with the Visitors and exploring their dreams. There <em>was<em> one Visitor that resided in the Night Dimension... but he had long since joined the forces of Wizeman.

"Why so glum, NiGHTS?" asked a familiar voice.

Surprised, NiGHTS turned around to find Owl had flew up to it.

"Oh... hello, Owl." said NiGHTS in a melancholy tone.

"Is something wrong?" asked Owl.

"Not really," responded NiGHTS. "It's just... I wish the Visitors would come back. It's been awfully quiet and boring around here."

"As do I," said Owl. "But because of the seal, I'm afraid there isn't much we can do about it."

NiGHTS sighed. It wasn't fair to the Visitors. They couldn't experience the magic of dreaming anymore. How would they be able to follow their goals or come up with ideas for anything? It was quite depressing when it thought about it. NiGHTS wondered how they were faring without their dreams. It was then that something remarkable and horrifying happened at once.

NiGHTS and Owl looked up only to be shocked at what they saw. A circular symbol covered in many runes lit up in the sky above the Dream Gate.

"The seal!" yelped Owl.

"What's happening?" asked NiGHTS.

"I... Why, I don't know!" replied Owl.

The seal cracked and a small hole shattered open, letting a sphere of light fall through to the entrance. The two looked at each other for a moment and went to investigate the object that had fallen from the sky. As they got closer, they noticed something... familiar. It was a girl with short, dark brown hair wearing a black short sleeve hoodie with a red and white tank top underneath, blue jean shorts and a pair of sneakers. NiGHTS instantly recognized her; not by her hair or clothes, but by her pale and delicate facial features.

"Alex...?" asked NiGHTS.

"Impossible!" snapped Owl. "The Night Dimension has been sealed away from the Visitors!"

"Then how do you explain _this_?" asked NiGHTS.

Owl started mumbling, apparently annoyed. He always did that whenever he was proven wrong. The girl, Alex, moaned for a moment and opened her brown eyes. NiGHTS smiled with excitement and got close to her.

"Alex!" it said with glee. "It's been too long!"

But instead of sharing the feeling, Alex's eyes opened wide. She screamed, taking NiGHTS by surprise. Then she looked to Owl and screamed.

"Wait, Alex! It's us!" said NiGHTS, trying to calm down the girl. "You know, Owl and NiGHTS!"

"It's likely that she doesn't remember us," said Owl. "After all, it has been some time in her world."

"Then what do we do?" asked NiGHTS.

Before Owl could respond, a Nightmaren in the form a green and red cockatrice-pterodactyl hybrid appeared from seemingly nowhere and grabbed Alex in its talons, carrying her away as she screamed even more.

"Alex!" shouted NiGHTS as it took off to save her.

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong>: Sorry for the wait (and cliffhangar, but I ran out of things to write, hehe). I got writer's block. But now I have the newest chapter! Hope you like it!


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